Building a Mystery
by Standout
Summary: Sometime during NEXT, Xel's been away for a while and Lina can't sleep. Chaos ensues. Not really. *shrug* X/L, no sex


Building a Mystery  
song by Sarah McLachlan  
songfic by Anna  
R&R please!  
  
  
~~  
You come out at night  
That's where the energy comes  
And the dark side's light  
And the vampires roam…  
~~  
  
Lina Inverse jolted awake in her small tent, sweating despite the coldness outside, her bright red bangs sticking to her forehead. She sighed and moved to a sitting position, brushing them off, and glanced at the raven-headed lump in the blankets next to her. Yep, Amelia was still asleep. The kid deserved some rest; they'd been walking for weeks, Lina reflected. She pulled her hair into a loose ponytail and pushed her way out of the tent. Something wasn't right.  
Gourry had fallen asleep by the fire, despite the promise he'd made to keep an all-night vigil over the tents. Oh, well, nobody was around anyway, she thought. The small-boned redhead took a deep breath, inhaling the cool night air. She just couldn't sleep. She figured it was claustrophobia. Taking a seat by the dying fire across from the sleeping swordsman, she folded her arms and closed her eyes to relax. Suddenly a voice pierced the silence.  
  
~~  
You strut your rasta wear and your suicide poem  
And a cross from a faith that died before Jesus came  
You're building a mystery…  
~~  
  
"Yare yare! Up and around at this time of night!"  
Lina gasped and jumped to her feet, and looked towards the direction of the voice.  
Then she raised an eyebrow. "Xelloss. You're back."  
  
~~  
You live in a church where you sleep with voodoo dolls  
And you won't give up the search for the ghosts in the halls…  
~~  
  
He was perched on a tree branch gracefully, his staff balanced on his lap. His hair was pulled back, not how he usually wore it, and his violet eyes shone with something Lina didn't care to place. He grinned down at her, his teeth shining like a wolf's. "Miss me?"  
She snorted. "Hardly."  
  
~~  
You wear sandals in the snow  
And a smile that won't wash away  
Can you look out the window   
Without your shadow getting in the way?  
~~  
  
He leapt from the branch and landed at her feet in a crouch, then stood to his full height and looked down at her. He was wearing the most irking expression. She frowned at him.  
"These woods are deserted. We could move a bit away from them," he gestured towards the camp, "and…" he grinned.  
Her eyes widened and she slapped him.  
"Ow." He rubbed his cheek. "See, that was the dark side in you coming out."  
She slapped him again.  
"Itaaaaai! You wouldn't have such bursts of irrational anger if you just let her come out sometimes."  
She sighed. "Me, have a dark side. Yeah right. I'm more likely to kiss you."  
"Is that idea so unappealing?" He leered at her again.  
"Of course not- minus the fact that you're a servant of an honest-to-L-sama Dark Lord."  
He shrugged. "I can be whatever you wish. I've got lots of different faces. And I'm built like a human. A well-hung human at that."  
She squeezed her eyes closed. "Ewww! I didn't need to know that."  
"Well, it's true."  
"I feel dirty just thinking about that, you moron!"  
"Deep down, don't you like that feeling?"  
  
~~  
Oh you're so beautiful  
With an edge and a charm  
But so careful  
When  
I'm  
In your arms…  
~~  
  
"Of course not, you hentai! Gross."  
"Sure, Lina. Just let me know when you decide you deserve more then this…" He waved his arm around the camp, and began to back away into the shadows of the trees.  
"Wait!" She held out her hand.  
He stepped out again, surprised. "Nani?"  
"What… What do you mean by that?" Her red eyes were puzzled.  
"I mean I can help you."  
"Help me do what?"  
"Change you."  
"Change me into wha- oh - are you insane?!"  
"Don't try to tell me you don't want to be invincible."  
  
~~  
'Cause you're working  
Building a mystery  
Holding on and holding it in, yeah  
Yeah you're working  
Building a mystery  
Choosing so carefully…  
~~  
  
"I'll never serve a Dark Lord! Especially not yours!"  
"Lina, Lina Lina," he sighed her name, looking up at the sky, exasperated. "Don't you love nights like this?"  
"What's that got to do with anything?!"  
"Clear, cool nights in the forest, with the sky and the stars hanging over you… Imagine that you could have nights like these for the rest of eternity? Imagine that your senses were so heightened that you felt you could touch the stars, and that your strength was so great that you could kick a hole in the sky? Or that you were so full of vitality that you could pull the moon down to earth?"  
"You're getting too poetic."  
"My point is, you can. You can feel like that."  
"Why are you offering me this, Xelloss? What's your ulterior motive?"  
He reached out a hand and turned her face to his forcefully. Lina shivered. His fingers were cold.  
"Juu-oh-sama feels that you have much potential. And myself… You interest me, Lina Inverse. You interest me more then any other mortal in all of my eons of life. You're a woman, who, if properly initiated into the dark ways, could possibly match me at everything. My equal." His face was expressionless.  
  
~~  
You woke up screaming aloud  
A prayer from your secret god  
You feed off our fears  
And hold back your tears  
~~  
  
"…Why?"  
"Why what?" The intensity that he had just displayed to her was gone. He let her go and retreated slightly, leaning back on his heels.  
"Why me?"  
"I…"  
"Do you love me?"  
He laughed darkly. "Silly. It's impossible for me to love."  
"Do you love me?"  
Xelloss' face got darker and he leaned down towards her, his nose nearly touching hers.  
"I'm not dependant on anyone. Nobody."  
"Then why did you come back?" At that moment, her eyes looked similar to his, both narrowed with intensity and a hint of challenge, though one pair red and one pair violet.  
"Like I said, you interest me. Perhaps I'm infatuated. Perhaps not." His breath tickled her face.  
"Sore wa himitsu desu, right?" she asked in a psuedo-sweet voice.  
"Indeed," he whispered, and leaned in to lightly kiss her. His lips were as cold as his fingers.  
  
~~  
Give us a tantrum  
And a know-it-all grin  
Just when we need one   
When the evening's thin…  
~~  
  
He pulled away after a second and receded into the shadows. His voice drifted towards her. "Remember, Lina… My offer stands… And who know what I'll do if you don't accept…"  
"Nothing I can't handle, Xelloss."  
"Farewell." A slight gust of wind and he was gone.   
She was left gazing down at the patch of grass where he had just been standing, with a hand pressed to her lips. It had gotten warmer.  
  
~~  
Oh, you're beautiful…  
A beautiful fucked-up man…  
You're setting up your razor wire shrine…  
~~ 


End file.
